Register for carbid lighting plants.



W. A. REINEKE.

REGISTER FOR GARBID LIGHTING PLANTS.

APPLICATION FILED APR.10, 1912. I 7

1,054,618, Patented Feb.25, 1913.

2 BHEETE-BHEET 1.

COLUMBIA PLANOG c W. REINEKE. REGISTER FOR OARBID LIGHTING PLANTS.

APPLIGATION FILED APR-10,1912

Patented Feb. 25, 1913.

2 SHBETS-SHEET 2'.

6 u w w H COI-VUMBIA PLANOGRAPH c0.. WASHINGTON, D. C.

WILLIAM A. REINEKE, OF PERRY, ILLINOIS.

REGISTER FOR CARBID LIGHTING PLANTS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 25,1913.

Application filed April 10, 1912. Serial No. 689,828.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, VILLIAM A. REINEKE, a citizen of the United States,residing at Perry, in the county of Pike and State of Illinois, haveinvented new and useful Improvements in Registers for Carbid LightingPlants, of which the following is a specification.

The invention provides an indicator particularly designed for use inconnection with lighting plants employing calcium carbid as the gasproducing agent, said carbid being contained in a holder and fedtherefrom in charges or predetermined portions as required in order tomaintain an ample supply of gas.

The register is of such construction as to indicate the day when theholder was filled wit-h ca-rbid, the number of charges supplied to theholder and the number of charges used when the machine is in operation,thereby enabling the condition of the supply to be determined at anytime from a convenient point without requiring the person to inspect thegas machine.

For safety the carbid gas machines are generally located exterior to thedwelling or structure to be lighted or are placed in a remote part of acellar or other excavation, hence an inspection of the machine isusually attended with more or less inconvenience and a soiling of thehands or clothing.

The present invention provides a register which may be convenientlylocated in any room or place in the living quarters of the dwelling orstructure, suitable connections being interposed between the operatingmechanism of the register and the movable part of the gas machine, suchas the bell for operating the register when the gas machine is inact-ion.

The invention contemplates a register embodying a case, a movable dial,relatively fixed hands, and a peculiar operating mechanism for actuatingthe dial by an intermittent motion.

The invention consists of the novel features, details of constructionand combination of parts, which hereinafter will be more particularlyset forth, illustrated in the ac companying drawings, and pointed out inthe appended claim.

Referring to the drawings, forming a part of the specification, Figure 1is a detail view,

showing a register embodying the invention and connecting means betweenthe register and the movable part such as the gas bell of a gas machinefor transmitting move ment to the register for operating the same. Fig.2 is a transverse section of theregister. Fig. 3 is a front view of theregister having the door and the dial omitted, showing more clearly theoperating means. Fig. 4 is a section on the line 4t4 of Fig. 2, lookingtoward the front.

Corresponding and like parts are referred to in the followingdescription, and indicated in all the views of the drawings, by the samereference characters.

The numeral 1 designates the hell or moving part of a gasometer of a gasmachine, the latter being conveniently located either in the cellar of adwelling or structure to be illuminated or exterior thereto. Theregister A is located so as to be readily accessible at all times toenable the condition of the charge in the carbid holder beingascertained at any time. A suitable connection is interposed between theregister and the hell 1, the same consisting of a rope, cord or likepart 2 which passes around guide pulleys 3 and has a weight a at itslower end to rest upon the bell 1 so as to rise and fall there with, theopposite end of the connection 2 being attached to the operating part,such as the lever 5 of the register actuating mechanism. I

The register embodies a case 6 which may be of any construction so as toinclose the working parts, said case having lugs 7 which are aperturedto receive fastenings for connect-ing the register to a wall, partitionor other convenient support. The door 8 closes the case and protects thedial and the hands. A post 9 is located centrally of the case andsupports the lever 5 and the several hands. The dial 10 is mountedwithin the case in such a manner as to rotate about the post 9, whichlatter extends through an opening formed centrally of the dial. A rim orflange 11 projects rearwardly from the dial 10 and is toothed upon itsinner wall. The rim ll fits loosely within the case so as not tointerfere with the rotationof the dial. The dial is graduated in such amanner as to indicate the number of charges or portions of the carbidfed from the holder at each operation of the gas machine. The dial isalso provided upon its face with matter indicating the days of the weekso that upon inspecting the register it may be ascertained when thecarbid holder was last replenished.

The lever 5 is mounted upon the post 9 and has a pawl 12 at one end toengage with the teeth of the rim or flange 11. The connection 2 isattached to the opposite end of the lever Two stops 13 and 14 projectfrom the back of the case toward the front thereof and the lever 5passes between them and is limited in its movements thereby. A springpawl 15 attached to the stop 13 at one end has its opposite end arrangedto engage with the teeth of the rim 11 so as to prevent backwardrotation of the dial. A spring 16 is attached at one end to the stop liand engages the pawl 12 and serves the two-fold purpose of holding saidpawl in engagement with the teeth of the rim 11 and also of holding thelever 5 in a given position, that is with the end thereof carrying thepawl 12 in contact with the stop 1st. The movement of the lever 5 issuch as to advance the dial one tooth at each operation of the registeror movement of the gas machine to supply a fresh charge from the carbidholder to the generator. lVhen the bell 1 rises the weight 4 is lifted,thereby relieving the lever 5 of the pull represented by the weight whenthe spring 16 will de press the opposite end of the lever and bring itin contact with the stop ll. hen

the bell 1 lowers, as a result of a consump tion of the gas, the weightt descends, thereby drawing downward upon the end of the lever 5 throughthe connection 2 and causing the opposite end of the lever provided withthe pawl 12 to rise and to advance the dial one tooth, which correspondswith a graduation of the dial.

Three hands 17, 1S and 19 are employed and are mounted upon the outerend of the post 9. The hand 19 is stationary when set with reference tothe post 9 and dial, but the hands 17 and 18 rotate with reference tothe post 9 but are stationary with reference to the dial, since theymove with the dial around the post 9 after being set. The hand 1'7indicates the day when the carbid holder was charged. The hand 18 is setto indicate the amount of carbid supplied to the holder, said quantityrepresenting so many charges or portions. The hand 19 being stationaryand the dial movable it follows that the number of charges or portionsof carbid used may be determined at any time, and by comparing thenumber of charges indicated as used with the number holder becomingempty.

holder was filled with the date when making the comparison it may bedetermined how long the machine will operate with the remaining chargesin the carbid holder, provided the consumption of the gas remains thesame or the conditions remain practically unchanged.

From the foregoing, taken in connection with the drawings heretoattached, it will be readily understood that the invention providesmeans whereby the condition of an acetylene gas plant may be determinedwithout requiring actual inspection of the machine to determine theamount of carbid contained in the holder, hence the carbid holder may bereplenished in ample time, thereby avoiding the inconvenience of thesupply of gas being cut off by the carbid The condition of the machinemay be determined without necessitating a direct examination thereof,which at times may not be convenient and which is always attended with aliability of soiling the hands and clothing. Moreover, the registerbeing located in such a position as to be practically under observationat all times provides means whereby a constant supervision over the gasmachine may be had.

From the foregoing description, taken in connection with theaccompanying drawings, the advantages of the construction and of themethod of operation will be readily apparent to those skilled in the artto which the invention appertains, and while I have described theprinciple of operation of the invention, together with the device whichI now consider to be the best embodimentthereof, I desire to have itunderstood that the device shown is merely illustrative, and that suchchanges may be made when desired as are within the scope of the claimappended hereto.

Having thus described the invention what is claimed as new, is

In a register of the character described the combination of a fixedpost, a dial rotatable upon the post, hands mounted upon the post androtatable with the dial, another hand mounted upon the post and adaptedto be set and to occupy a relatively fixed position when set, a levermounted upon the post, means for imparting an oscillatory movement tothe lever, and a ratchet mechanism between the lever and dial forintermittently rotating the dial.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

lVILLIAM A. REINEKE.

itnesses J. RAY T'TANNALNT, HARRIS BRADBURY.

(lopies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, byaddressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. G.

